Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Glossary of Terms

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Acupuncture: The practice of inserting needles into the body to reduce pain or induce anes...

Allergy: A misguided reaction to foreign substances by the immune system, the body system ...

Alprazolam: A benzodiazepine sedative that causes dose-related depression of the central n...

Amitriptyline: An antidepressant medication. In some patients with depression, abnormal l...

Antibiotic: A drug used to treat infections caused by bacteria and other microorganisms. ...

Antibody: An immunoglobulin, a specialized immune protein, produced because of the introdu...

Antidepressants: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Antifungal: A medication that limits or prevents the growth of yeasts and other fungal org...

Antihistamines: Drugs that combat the histamine released during an allergic reaction by bl...

Antiviral: An agent that kills a virus or that suppresses its ability to replicate and, he...

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

Bacterium: The singular of bacteria.

Borage: An herb, also known as the starflower, that has long been used for medicinal purpo...

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Bronchitis: Inflammation and swelling of the bronchi. Bronchitis can be acute or chronic.

Caffeine: A stimulant compound found naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa (chocolate), and kola...

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, ...

Candida albicans: A yeast-like fungal organism found in small amounts in the normal human...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The US agency charged with tracking and invest...

Chiropractic: A system of diagnosis and treatment based on the concept that the nervous sy...

Chlamydia: The agent of a sexually transmitted disease, a type of bacteria found in the ce...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

Chronic fatigue syndrome: A debilitating and complex disorder characterized by profound fa...

Cognitive: Having to do with thought, judgment, or knowledge.

Computed tomography: An x-ray procedure that uses the help of a computer to produce a deta...

Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. 2. A time withou...

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Doxycycline: Brand name: Vibramycin. A synthetic broad-spectrum antibiotic derived from te...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Dyslexia: A specific developmental disability that alters the way the brain processes writ...

EBV: Epstein-Barr virus.

Echinacea: An herb that has been claimed to boost the body's immune system and help fight ...

Elavil: See: Amitriptyline.

Encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain, which may be caused by a bacterium, a virus, or a...

Epstein-Barr virus: A virus in the herpes family that is best known as the cause of infect...

Erythrocyte: A cell that contains hemoglobin and can carry oxygen to the body. Also called...

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

Fever: Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degr...

Fibromyalgia: A disease characterized by chronic pain, stiffness, and tenderness of muscle...

Flare: 1. an exacerbation of a chronic disease. Sometimes referred to as a flare-up, a fla...

Garlic: A perennial herb of the lily family cultivated for its pungent, edible bulbs. Garl...

Ginseng: Ginseng has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Today, ginseng"...

Hepatitis: Inflammation of the liver, irrespective of the cause. Hepatitis is caused by a ...

Hepatitis C: Inflammation of the liver due to the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is usuall...

Herbal: 1. An adjective, referring to herbs, as in an herbal tea.
2. A...

HIV: Acronym for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodefi...

Ibuprofen: A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is commonly used to treat pa...

Immune: Protected against infection, usually by the presence of antibodies.

Immune system: A complex system that is responsible for distinguishing a person from every...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Infection: The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, an...

Internal medicine: The medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment ...

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

Kissing disease: A name for infectious mononucleosis ("mono"), a very common il...

Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures, and for preparing chemicals a...

Lethargy: Abnormal drowsiness, stupor.

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Liver disease: Liver disease refers to any disorder of the liver. The liver is a large org...

Long-term memory: A system for permanently storing, managing, and retrieving information f...

Lyme disease: An inflammatory disease that is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi...

Lymph: The almost colorless fluid that travels through the lymphatic system, carrying cell...

Malignancy: A tumor that is malignant (cancerous), that can invade and destroy nearby tiss...

Medical school: A school with a curriculum leading to a medical degree. The mission of eve...

Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. ...

Modafinil: An oral drug first approved by the FDA in 1998 for the treatment of narcolepsy,...

Mononucleosis: Infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, human herpesvirus 4, HHV-4) in...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Narcolepsy: A neurological disorder that is marked by the recurrent, sudden, uncontrollabl...

Nephrology: The art and science of the care of the kidneys.

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Physical therapist: A person who is trained and certified by a state or accrediting body t...

Pneumonia: Inflammation of one or both lungs, with dense areas of lung inflammation. Pneum...

Positron emission tomography: PET. A highly specialized imaging technique that uses short-...

Postural: Pertaining to the posture or position of the body, the attitude or carriage of t...

Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or dev...

Psychosomatic: Relating to both the mind and the body or to the mind-body interrelationshi...

Psychosomatic illness: A situation in which the mind influences the body to create or comp...

Quality of life: The patient's ability to enjoy normal life activities. Quality of life is...

Red blood cells: The blood cells that carry oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is...

Rehabilitation: The process of helping a person who has suffered an illness or injury rest...

Relapse: The return of signs and symptoms of a disease after a remission.

Rule out: Term used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from considera...

Sedimentation rate: A blood test that detects and monitors inflammation in the body. Abbre...

Short-term memory: A system for temporarily storing and managing information required to ...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Sore: 1. (adjective) A popular term for painful, such as a sore throat. 2. (...

Sore throat: Pain in the throat. Sore throat may be caused by many different causes, inclu...

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

Syndrome: A combination of symptoms and signs that together represent a disease process.

Tachycardia: A rapid heart rate, usually defined as greater than 100 beats per minute.

Therapeutic: Relating to therapeutics, the branch of medicine that is concerned specifical...

Therapeutic touch: A practice derived from an ancient technique called laying on of hands....

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Throat: The throat is the anterior (front) portion of the neck beginning at the back of th...

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

Tired: A feeling of a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment,...

Tiredness: See: Tired.

Tomography: The process for generating a tomogram, a two-dimensional image of a slice or s...

Tricyclic antidepressants: One of a class of medications used to treat depression. The tri...

Virus: A microorganism that is smaller than a bacterium that cannot grow or reproduce apar...

Viruses: Small living particles that can infect cells and change how the cells function. I...

Xanax: See: Alprazolam.